1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to purchasing products from an electronic catalog, and more specifically, to a system, method and computer program product for providing a user friendly graphical interface for ordering products over a computer network.
2. Related Art
As well known to persons skilled in the relevant art(s), the global Internet is a vast interconnection of various computer networks. The computer networks vary in size and type such as, local internets, corporate intranets, local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN), private enterprise networks, and the like. As such, the global Internet provides a cost-effective and reliable medium for the exchange and management of information in an extensive array of computers and computer networks.
Since the Internet has historically represented a low-cost alternative to long distance communications, technological advancements have paved the way for multimedia transmissions over the Internet. For example, the Internet can be used to quickly transmit text, voice, video, graphics and multimedia. As a result, the Internet has evolved to support electronic mailing services (email), video-conferencing, voice telephony and facsimile.
The evolution of Internet technologies has made it possible for government officials, educational institutions, businesses, nonprofit organizations and individuals to communicate with the local networks or personal computers of other persons or organizations. Internet users have been able to established web sites or home pages to promote commercial or personal activities. For example, one may browse various web sites to seek information, purchase products (i.e., goods or services), join product support groups, and the like.
Therefore, the Internet has played an influential role in developing electronic commerce. Many businesses have established web sites to promote their products to potential consumers. Typically, the web site includes a user interface that allows consumers to select items they wish to purchase and place them into a virtual shopping cart while they continue to browse. The virtual shopping cart and its contents are not displayed to the consumer during the browsing/selection process. After the consumer has completed browsing or selecting other items on the web site and is ready to “check out,” the consumer completes the ordering process to purchase the items. During the check out phase, the web site directs the consumer to another web page where the consumer must complete an order form to provide shipping instructions and payment information.
Many problems exist with conventional electronic shopping carts. The check out process can be time extensive and poses security risks because sensitive information must be transferred across the Internet. Not only would the consumer have to enter a credit card account number that must be validated by a remote server and enter shipping instructions, but each item placed in the shopping cart must be validated by the remote server. For example, the server would need to confirm whether the item is still in stock. The server would also need to verify price changes. Oftentimes, at the time of placing the order, the applicable tax and shipping/handling expenses are not known, and the consumer would not be presented with an accurate invoice.
Conventional electronic shopping carts do not facilitate the easy exchange of new or additional product information about a product while the consumer is browsing the web site. For instance, a consumer can purchase a product online and later discover that the price has changed or the model is no longer being manufactured. Similarly, if a consumer requires additional information describing the product, conventional electronic commerce sites would take the consumer to another web page or web site, and the consumer may lose the information that has been added to the shopping cart.
It is also common for conventional shopping carts to be located on a separate web page than the products that are being advertised. Therefore, each time a consumer selects or sends a product to the shopping cart, the consumer is unable to view the shopping cart's contents unless the consumer visits the other page. As a result, the consumer may have to leave the web site or possibly lose his or her place in or connection to the web site. Unless the consumer views the shopping cart, the consumer can forget which items that have been selected and their total price.
Consequently, a system and method are needed to solve the above-identified problems and provide a simple, efficient and cost-effective way to provide real time online product information and place electronic orders.